Like this:

When I moved into our current home (AKA “the Money Pit”), I bought a gorgeous sisal rug. Within 5 days, one of my children vomited on the rug. Hello stain, goodbye rug.

Enter floor cloths. I Pinterest hunted for tutorials but couldn’t find the right one. So I came up with my own. Unlike cloth, I used linoleum as my base as it is heavy. It does not need to be anchored using rug tape and does not curl up on the edges.Did I mention it’s also extremely durable?

It’s pretty easy and very economical. This is my “rug” after 9 months of hard use. I clean it with a mop and bucket.

You will need:

linoleum ( I use the cheapest, ugliest linoleum at Lowe’s the local big box store). For this project, it needs to completely flat, not embossed or grooved unless that is part of your design element. You can cut it in any size or shape you wish.

Paint. I find latex works best and I use the type used for walls. Just like walls, the higher quality paint leads to fewer coats which is essential if you plan to stencil. I like to use craft paint such as Martha Stewart, Plaid or Tulip paints for fine details.

Stencils if you wish to use them for your design. I especially like the stencils from Cutting Edge Stencils

Steps

Wash your linoleum with the floor cleaner of your choice and let air dry. Note: Finding a relatively kid free place to work is key. You want your masterpiece to dry where it won’t be stepped on.

Cover the entire piece of linoleum with Stix. Make sure it is well coated and is opaque so the original linoleum color is NOT showing through.

Add your base coat design if using a stencil. Steps two and three are the easiest because you can just use a roller. Again, let air dry.

Then I begin to tape off borders if I am using them and use my stencils. I do not use stencil adhesive spray, I prefer to hold the stencils in place or I use painters tape to hold the stencil firm.

When dry, add additional colors to your design, making sure to let each coat dry thoroughly between colors.

Touch ups as needed. When everything is bone dry and correct (this may take several days), I use tack cloths to clean my linoleum before sealing with two coats of poly. I have also found that if there are mistakes after I’ve sealed, I gently paint over the error with a little brush and then reapply poly with a foam tip brush.

Like this:

We at a lot of beans in my home. They are cheap, filling and healthy. In fact, my children, prefer beans to meat. Throughout this blog, I will provide different ways to enjoy beans. Another excellent bean resource is the Prudent Homemaker’s Post, How to Eat Beans Every Night.

I used to shell out money for frozen black bean burgers but now I just make my own and freeze them for a fraction of the cost.

I start with cooking black beans in my instant pot. You can use canned beans, cook beans the traditional way in a pot on the stove or even use a crock pot. I like to cook beans in bulk with no seasoning so I can freeze the extras for other uses. I just weigh them out by the pound, put them in a zip lock and freeze.

So we’re off… I used half a bag of black beans covered with about 4 inches of water at 40 minutes on the manual setting on high with a natural release.

After the beans cook, they will look like this

Put the beans in a bowl and add the egg, and the other chopped ingredients

I then pour all the ingredients into a food processor and roughly pulse them together. Note, you don’t want a puree as it will be too loose.

Add in your bread crumbs and seasoning.I used two slices of brioche to make my crumbs but you can use whatever you have on hand. The seasonings can be adjusted to your tastes…if you like a more piquant burger, double the sriracha. Our children prefer them more on the mild side but if I’m making them for adults, I spice them up.

Gently fold the mixture together and place into mounds onto a silpat. Preheat your oven for 375 and bake for 10 minutes on each side.

Here’s the recipe:

Bodacious Black Bean Burgers

16 oz of black beans

Preheat oven to 375 (190 C). Then can also be grilled at high heat so oil and preheat the grill if you wish.